Beethoven:
- Cello Sonatas
In this new recording, cellist Steven Isserlis together with pianist Robert Levin, presents Beethoven’s complete works for cello and piano, including Beethoven’s arrangement of his Op 17 Horn Sonata.
The use of the fortepiano opens up a whole lot of audio possibilities for these works.
We get to hear the following:
Beethoven:
- Cello Sonatas Nos. 1-5 (complete) and variations
- Horn Sonata in F major, Op. 17, arranged by Beethoven
Performed by Steven Isserlis (cello) and Robert Levin (fortepiano)
The five Cello Sonatas span Beethoven’s entire compositional period, and comprise the most important cycle of cello sonatas in the entire repertoire.
Mr. Isserlis writes that the composer ‘transforms himself from confident virtuoso to supreme master of classical form, and then beyond that to a mystic exploring strange new worlds of unearthly beauty—a wondrous transfiguration’.
BBC Music Magazine, January 2014, wrote:
“This set contains of the finest Beethoven performances you are likely to hear. Steven Isserlis is on blazing form: every note lives, every movement is characterized with infectious relish; his range is breathtaking. The ensemble with Robert Levin is dynamic, intimate, often electric.”
Here is the Britten Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 65, as performed by Steven Isserlis:
And next, here is Mr. Isserlis, playing an arrangement of Music from Mozart’s Don Giovanni:
http://youtu.be/Yk0bjK7lCdA
Tags: Cellist, Steven Isserlis, Beethoven Sonatas, Robert Levin